Hiding in the sand, splitting into many places, starting with Arkham

The commotion on Dragon Tiger Mountain didn't subside until nearly dawn.

Under the coordination of Anywhere Company, the Municipal Tourism Bureau approved the Dragon Tiger Mountain scenic area's application for a temporary one-day closure.

Lu Liang, Gong Qing, and a large number of Quanzhen demonic individuals were captured alive and temporarily imprisoned in Anywhere Company's Central China Branch's temporary prison, awaiting legal trial.

"Professor Zhuo, I heard you saved Linglong and the others. This old man would like to thank you in advance. If you need any help in the future, just tell me, Lu Jin, and don't hesitate."

The white-haired, handsome old man in a suit stood in front of the Dragon Tiger Mountain gate, holding his granddaughter's hand, and patted his chest at Qingshui.

"Elder Lu, you're too kind. By the way, I heard that the young man who used 'Sniffing Qi' in the previous competition was seriously injured this time?"

Qingshui asked Lu Jin.

"Yes, it's Xiao Xiao. He lost an arm. Xu San has already arranged for him to receive treatment at the company's medical department."

"If the company can't handle it, he can come to me. My next research project should be able to cure his arm."

Qingshui put his hands in his pockets and said with a smile.

...

...

[Current Luck Value: 57.73%]

Naruto World.

Qingshui sat upright in front of the holographic sand table, his movements slightly paused.

The position of senior consultant at Anywhere Company only increased my luck value by this much?

That's right. Although Anywhere Company is an organization that manages all the extraordinary people in the world, if I can't get a position as a director or be recognized as one of the Ten Elders by the extraordinary world, it's still not enough.

But it's better than nothing.

Currently, the avatars in several existing worlds have mostly climbed to the limit they can reach in the current stage, and the dividends brought by technology and strength have almost been exhausted.

And the One Person Below world, as a blue ocean, is expected to be the focus of obtaining luck in the future.

Of course, the other worlds, and the main body here, can still steadily obtain luck continuously, but the amount cannot increase so much at once.

Slow and steady wins the race. Accumulated over a period of time, it is also an objective amount.

The premise is that the forces under his command can continue to develop and expand.

"Now that these two cities have been taken, the gateway to most of the western part of the Land of Fire has been opened. This entire area is indefensible, but we still have to leave a garrison to stabilize the already occupied areas."

Qingshui looked at the holographic sand table and quickly deduced in his mind.

It has been a while since the last large-scale battle between Bai Chuan City and Konoha.

After Orochimaru and Jiraiya led their troops to defeat, Qingshui took advantage of the situation and led the main force into the western border of the Land of Fire, seizing territory.

Now, a small piece of the western border of the Land of Fire has been bitten off. It is said that the Fire Daimyo is extremely angry about this and has specifically sent an inquiry to the Third Hokage.

However, along with it, a large amount of funds and war materials were also sent.

Once defeated, no matter what happens to Konoha, he, the Daimyo, will definitely be the first to be liquidated.

If Konoha is destroyed, he is dead. If Konoha still retains its vitality, defeated but not destroyed, then in order to restore its strength, it will definitely have to start with him, the Daimyo.

The Sand Village has already proven that even without the Daimyo, the ninjas can still find a way out, and they can still live very well and become stronger.

However, after entering the territory of the Land of Fire, even though the Sand Village is still at an advantage, it has inevitably slowed down some of its offensive.

Under his command, there are 6,000 responsible for attacking the Land of Fire, which is the largest number.

Chiyo and Garura are leading 4,000 Sand Village ninjas to resist Iwagakure, which has formed an alliance with Konoha, in the north of the Land of Wind.

These alone account for 10,000 people, using up two-thirds of Sand Village's military strength.

The Third Kazekage has already negotiated an alliance with Hanzo. After paying a certain price and burdening Rain Village with logistical supplies, the two sides will jointly send troops, both interfering with and containing the Land of Earth, and attacking the Land of Fire from another direction.

The two sides have formed a force of about 3,000 people in the direction of the Land of Fire, with Sand Village accounting for half and Rain Village accounting for half.

In addition to the necessary troops left behind to stabilize the rear of the village, there are not many people who can be drawn out.

"That guy Orochimaru has actively arranged for multiple small elite teams to fight guerrilla warfare with me. I really have to divide my troops to garrison the rear. Just the dozen or so cities that have been captured now require a lot of troops."

"The fifth and sixth grade students of the ninja school can be arranged for graduation internships. They can replace the second-tier teams to garrison the rear. Now that we have entered the territory of the Land of Fire, the pressure on the rear is not great, which is just right."

"We can also start modifying some of the clairvoyant-type reconnaissance puppets. We can select a batch of puppet masters from non-puppet units, give them some simple training, and leave two puppet masters in each city to cooperate with other garrison members. In addition, with the improved real-time communication and reconnaissance facilities, we can expand the surveillance range of the garrison team. It's best to leave this to Scorpion."

Doing so should save more than a thousand regular troops.

It's a pity that Sand Village doesn't have a bunch of powerful ninja clans like Konoha, otherwise it could squeeze out a lot of potential power.

Of course, Sand Village also has ninja clans, but the average quality is much worse than Konoha. There are no prestigious ninja clans in the first tier of the ninja world like the Uchiha and Hyuga clans.

The slightly larger ones are not secret technique families like the Ino-Shika-Cho, Inuzuka, and Aburame clans, but rather regular ninja families similar to the Sarutobi and Shimura clans, with good ninjutsu inheritance and resource assets.

Of course, there is now a Blood Pond, but other than Uchiha En, who is usable, the remaining small fries added together may not be able to beat some small ninja clans.

The most important thing is that Sand Village's centralization of power is higher than that of Konoha.

The Third Hokage has to decentralize power to other elders and advisors, and the various ninja clans are too strong and have their own thoughts.

Sand Village is much simpler and more straightforward.

Although there are many disputes among the various elder families, the Third Kazekage is strong enough and holds the power tightly enough. The potential power of the various ninja clans has long been unearthed and incorporated into the Sand Village's ninja organization.

"The current offensive route should be changed. Ostensibly, this war is for revenge, but fundamentally, it's a conflict of systems. In essence, it's about completing the unfinished business of the previous two Shinobi World Wars: seizing the resource-rich land of the Land of Fire. The upcoming strategic deployment should focus on cutting off key transportation routes in the western regions of the Land of Fire, gradually nibbling away."

Now, Suna has achieved a great victory against Konoha and holds the advantage, but both sides are still of comparable strength.

It's very difficult to quickly defeat and destroy Konoha.

Unless one possesses the strength of Madara and Hashirama's caliber, it's impossible to easily take down a major country's ninja village.

Konoha's foundation is still strong, with many experts. It's impossible for Suna to destroy it in one fell swoop.

The most suitable approach is to slowly bleed Konoha, weakening them while strengthening ourselves. Only when the power gap between the two sides widens again will it be the right time to truly eliminate Konoha.

And what needs to be done now is to seize the Land of Fire's territory and Konoha's resources, eliminate the living force of Konoha's ninja forces, and eradicate the numerous experts in Konoha.

Just as Shimizu began to arrange the next strategic steps on the holographic map, Maki suddenly rushed in from outside the door.

"What's the matter?"

"Intelligence Division reports that they have discovered the whereabouts of Orochimaru and Jiraiya."

"Where?"

"Muchi Town. Orochimaru's secret headquarters is located there."

Shimizu turned his gaze to the holographic sand table.

Muchi Town is located next to a vast forest, indeed capable of hiding many people. Even if discovered, it's backed by a vast forest. With the presence of reconnaissance-type ninjas like the Hyuga, Inuzuka, and Aburame clans, once discovered or defeated, they can slip into the forest like dragons entering the sea, making pursuit extremely difficult.

"Is the information credible?"

"It's a Class A hidden line that Ebizo-sama planted in Konoha many years ago, codenamed Ant. It has already gained a certain position in Konoha. All thirteen pieces of intelligence sent back previously have been verified and played an important role."

In other words, the credibility of this information is high enough.

Shimizu isn't afraid of being ambushed because the information is false. With the undying body brought by the Perfect Demon Transformation and the super-high mobility of the Blood Demon Art Flying Thunder God, plus his genuine strength, Konoha can't eliminate him.

What he fears is being lured away from the mountain.

Once the information is false, then Konoha might take advantage of him being lured away to do something else.

"Order the communications team to have Yekura and Rasa drop their current tasks and return to the team immediately, leading the main force to advance towards Muchi Town."

Shimizu waved his hand to dismiss the holographic sand table and issued the order.

"Directly mobilizing the main force? Won't that create too much noise? Konoha might notice and transfer in advance."

Maki asked.

"That's why I'm having Rasa and Yekura lead the team, and I'll depart in advance."

Shimizu replied.

"Are you confident? What if Konoha has an ambush this time..."

"It doesn't matter. You know my strength. I alone am an army. The so-called ambush must be effective to be called an ambush, otherwise, it's just delivering food."

Maki thought carefully about Shimizu's performance in the last war and understood.

...

...

A few minutes later.

Muchi Town, Konoha ninja garrison.

Shimizu concealed his aura, holding binoculars, silently standing on a high point watching this camp.

He didn't directly infiltrate because within a certain range, there's a risk of being discovered by the Byakugan.

The number of people in the camp is estimated to be over three thousand. Whether it's the quantity or the mental state of the ninjas, it's better than Shimizu had previously expected.

It seems they have received reinforcements.

The exact locations of Jiraiya and Orochimaru have not yet been seen, but the location of each core area can be determined through the routes of personnel coming and going within the camp.

By checking them one by one, the command post can be found soon.

"That should be the logistics location. The location in the center, slightly to the rear, is the task handover location. Orochimaru is most likely there. No other anomalies have been discovered."

Shimizu watched the Konoha camp, sitting cross-legged on the mountain, without acting rashly.

Konoha's camp is now well-organized. A rash attack would not be very effective. It's best to wait until they start moving.

A complete ninja force of more than three thousand can still cause a lot of trouble.

His goal is to inflict as much damage as possible on Konoha's ninjas, preferably killing characters like Orochimaru or Jiraiya. Rushing over directly is certainly possible, but the success rate will undoubtedly be reduced.

As for whether he will just sit here and not get a chance, Shimizu isn't worried.

The main force under his command has already started moving. As long as Konoha doesn't want to be surrounded and annihilated, they will definitely move the moment they receive the information.

"Suna's main force has already set out? Is it a full-strength deployment?"

Not long after, Orochimaru, located in the command post, received the news.

This is the territory of the Land of Fire. Konoha ninjas are already well-informed. With the addition of the Byakugan and a series of reconnaissance bloodline limits and secret techniques, they are slightly better than Suna, which has various reconnaissance puppets, in terms of real-time battlefield intelligence. Naturally, they can receive the news very quickly.

Without hesitation, Orochimaru immediately ordered the Konoha army to act immediately and prepare to transfer.

And Shimizu's opportunity also came along with it.

"There!"

Shimizu put down the binoculars, slid out the sealing scroll with his left hand, and took out the Kusanagi Sword with his right hand.

In the next moment, smoke rose, and five puppets appeared, rushing towards the forefront of the Konoha team in unison.

"Enemy attack!"

Next to Orochimaru, a young Hyuga clan member opened his Byakugan and suddenly shouted.

The former did not hesitate and retreated rapidly.

"Boom boom boom!!!"

Missiles flew out from the puppets, pouring down on the Konoha ninjas' position.

"Rotation!"

"Earth Style: Earth Wall!"

Barriers of defensive ninjutsu rose up, and Orochimaru also bit his thumb and completed the hand seals in an instant.

"Triple Rashomon!"

"Bang!"

The Rashomon was cut off by a Kusanagi Sword glowing with blue light.

Orochimaru couldn't help but be shocked and retreated again.

Breaking the Triple Rashomon with one move, this power is not inferior to a Tailed Beast Ball at all.

This guy's strength has become stronger compared to the last battle!

Damn it, this guy is not even sixteen years old. Could it be that he will really grow to the level of the First Hokage and Uchiha Madara in the future?

"Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!" × 2

Two dragon-head-shaped flames attacked Shimizu from different directions.

Shimizu teleported to avoid them, but in the next second, a thick stick like a towering pillar smashed towards him.

This stick is...

The Third Hokage?

So, this is actually an ambush against me?

An Orochimaru, a Jiraiya, plus a Third Hokage, and a large group of Konoha ninjas.

This lineup is a bit troublesome.